The parents of a Republican candidate trying to unseat a Democrat Senator in Wisconsin have made the maximum possible donation to her primary campaign.
Each of GOP nominee’s Kevin Nicholson’s parents made $2,700 (£1,947) contributions to Tammy Baldwin's campaign in December, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, first reported by CNN.
The amount is the largest allowed under FEC rules during the primary election, but they can give the same amount again during the general election.
Mr Nicholson announced last July he would seek the Republican nomination for US Senate in Wisconsin.
According to CNN, the donation was made in December 2017.
His mother, Donna, is known to be a longtime donor to liberal candidates, but it is the first time both his parents have donated the maximum amount.
“My parents have a different worldview than I do,” Mr Nicholson, a former Democrat, told CNN.
“It is not surprising that they would support a candidate like Tammy Baldwin who shares their perspective.”
Mr Nicholson is a former Democrat and became president of the College Democrats of America in 1999 while at the University of Minnesota. The role involved a position in the Democratic National Committee in Washington and a speaking opportunity at the party’s 2000 convention.
But Mr Nicholson has said he became disillusioned with the Democratic Party after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We were stabilising that country. We made incredible amounts of progress. And what I was hearing back home was a complete and absolute lie, as politicians were running around calling it a failure,” he told Politico.
When he returned to the US in November 2007, Mr Nicholson lent his support for John McCain, who ran for president in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama.
